The dismal steelhead return on the Clearwater River has prompted the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s commission to close the season.

On Friday, the commission voted to close the season when the number of returning adult hatchery fish was less than the number needed for broodstock, leaving no surplus for anglers.

The closure goes into effect at midnight Sunday and covers the river to the confluence of the Middle Fork and South Fork and along the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork tributaries, Fish and Game said in a news release. Also, the section of the Snake River downstream from the Couse Creek boat ramp to the Idaho-Washington state line will be closed to protect Clearwater-bound steelhead.

“Consistent with existing rules that prohibit targeting steelhead or salmon where there is no open season, anglers will not be allowed to fish for steelhead in the Clearwater River drainage after the fishery is closed, even catch-and-release,” the news release said.

A steelhead fishing season continues on the Salmon and Snake river basins.

Biologists estimate about 1,158 hatchery steelhead destined for the Clearwater River have passed Bonneville Dam through Sept. 18. The fish are tracked by tiny, electronic tags embedded in the body.

On average, 50 percent of the fish pass the Bonneville Dam headed for the Clearwater River by Sept. 18.

“Based on average run timing, we estimate that this will result in approximately 2,300 fish crossing Bonneville Dam by the end of the season,” said Lance Hebdon, anadromous fishery manager for Fish and Game. “The result for Idaho anglers is that only 1,700 hatchery steelhead destined for the Clearwater River will make it to Lower Granite Dam by the end of the season.”

Hebdon said the Clearwater River hatcheries will need 100 percent of the returning fish to meet its broodstock needs.

“Early in the fall, many of the steelhead in the Clearwater river basin are actually fish destined for the Salmon and Grande Ronde rivers, which have pulled into the Clearwater until water temperatures in the Snake River start to cool off,” Hebdon said. “The main component of the Clearwater River steelhead run starts arriving in the middle of October.”

ALMO — Highlining has been temporarily prohibited as of Aug. 28 at City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park.

“We had two people do it (highlining), one in Castle Rocks and one in City of Rocks,” City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park Superintendent Wallace Keck said. “We’re saying, ‘Wait a minute, let’s get ahead of this.’”

One of the two highlining incidents occurred Aug. 16 during the seventh annual Idaho Mountain Festival at the park and reserve.

Highlining is similar to slacklining, where individuals stretch nylon webbing (effectively a strong rope, sometimes similar to a tow strap) between two anchor points, then walk across the suspended line.

Slackliners typically perform their balancing acts just a few feet above the ground, while highliners set their lines dozens or hundreds of feet in the air. Most highliners wear harnesses to catch them if they fall.

Keck said that National Park Service policy charges him with continually monitoring and examining all park and preserve uses to ensure that the lands do not see unanticipated impacts.

Right now, Keck doesn’t know how highlining could affect the park. After analyzing potential effects, the sport could be allowed in certain areas, and in compliance with a newly established set of rules.

Ryan Robinson is a professional highliner, who participated in the Idaho Mountain Festival after studying the park regulations thoroughly. He added that when he established his highline at Castle Rocks, he did not do so as a member of the Black Diamond athlete team.

Robinson said that highliners and rock climbers have similar codes of ethics — most highliners are also climbers — and are conscientious stewards of public lands. He also noted that he only used existing trails when he was setting up his highline and did not damage any of the park’s rock structures when securing his ropes. No bolts were used to anchor the highline.

Keck made clear that there no rules prohibiting highlining were in place at the time of the festival. But there are potential concerns with how the sport could impact the park. For instance, there has been an increase in bouldering at City of Rocks and Castle Rocks in recent years, which Keck says has had significant effects.

There are a number of reasons to study the impacts of highlining before allowing it. For example, Keck said that one of the highliners might have inadvertently committed a federal crime by anchoring a line on Bureau of Land Management land. Climbing is permitted at Castle Rocks, but it is not permitted on BLM land within Castle Rocks. Keck also expressed concerns about highlining’s impact on park and preserve viewsheds.

Additionally, even if highlining has been a rarity at City of Rocks and Castle Rocks in the past, there’s a chance that the most recent highlining instances could encourage copycats.

“Other people were going to want to reproduce what they saw,” Keck said.

There’s a real chance that the ban will only be temporary. The issue will be discussed with park and preserve stakeholders, and guidelines could be established by January.

“If it’s acceptable to the park’s mission and purpose, then there’s no reason why we wouldn’t find a place for it somewhere,” Keck said.

Robinson said he appreciates the care and attention being paid to Castle Rocks and City of Rocks, but also mentioned the ban might have been unnecessary.

“Just because something is new or unknown doesn’t mean it should be illegal,” he said. “We are lovers of this place and this planet. Our sport is inspiring and gets people outside to enjoy nature while learning the art of balance.”

Keck reiterated that as superintendent, he cannot allow a sport until he knows its real impacts.

“Right now it’s a free for all,” he said. “If I didn’t implement a stop order, you could literally do whatever you wanted. That’s not how anything is managed in the park. Even climbing has rules.”

Respect for private land by hunters is critical to ensure continued access to private property remains today and into the future.

Often, big game hunts in Idaho require hunters to cross private land to reach their hunt unit that is usually on publicly owned land. Many private landowners allow the public to cross their land, because they are often hunters themselves and support providing access to others so they can hunt on public lands and pursue the wildlife that lives there.

Responsible hunting ethics on private land

To ensure that private landowners and their land are respected, ultimately resulting in private lands remaining open to hunting access, hunters are reminded to:

• Always ask for permission to hunt on private land, and, if you’re unsure if it is acceptable to cross private land to access public land, ask first! Idaho trespass law specifies that, “no person shall enter or remain on private land to shoot any weapon or hunt, fish, trap or retrieve game without written permission or other lawful permission.”
• If access is granted by the landowner, hunters should stay on designated roads and trails.
• If you must open a closed gate, legally, the gate must be closed once you’ve passed through it. Leaving a gate open can allow livestock to escape into areas where they don’t belong.
• Never cut a fence or remove fence rails or wires. Destroying or damaging improvements on private land is illegal and is punishable by law.
• Know your target. Many landowners are running livestock both on private and public lands. Never shoot unless you are absolutely sure of your target and what lies beyond.

Trespassing law in Idaho

• Never trespass on private lands. It is the responsibility of the hunter to know Idaho’s trespass law. A person who commits criminal trespass could be found guilty of a misdemeanor.
• Private land is typically identified by a place of residence, the land is cultivated, or it’s fenced or enclosed in a manner that reflects a private boundary.
• If private property adjoins or is contained within public lands, the fence line adjacent to public land is to be posted with conspicuous “no trespassing” signs or bright orange or fluorescent paint at the corners of the fence adjoining public land and at all navigable streams, roads, gates and rights-of-way entering the private land from the public land. It must be posted in a manner that a reasonable person would be put on notice that it is private land.
• If private property is unfenced and uncultivated it is to be posted with conspicuous “no trespassing” signs or bright orange or fluorescent paint at all property corners and boundaries where the property intersects navigable streams, roads, gates and rights-of-way entering the land, and is posted in a manner that a reasonable person would be put on notice that it is private land.

Partnering with private landowners – Access Yes!

Fish and Game partners with private landowners under the Access Yes! program to improve access to private land, or when hunters need to cross private land to access public lands. Properties that are incorporated into the Access Yes! program can be found on the department website. Hunters need to be aware of any landowner requirements or restrictions when going onto private land, which can also be found on the Access Yes! webpages.

By acting responsibly and respecting private property, hunters will help to ensure access to private property today, and into the future.

A young bull elk, given a second chance at freedom when returned to the wild country of Bear Valley, Idaho, in mid-August, is back in captivity. On Sunday, Idaho Fish and Game officers found the young bull about three miles from its original release site where they contained and transported the bull to a Fish and Game holding area.

A renewed search is now underway to find an accredited facility that will take the young bull. A nationwide search conducted just after the bull’s capture in mid-August found no takers.

The bull elk was illegally removed from the wild as a calf in the spring of 2018 and raised in captivity by a resident of Sweet, Idaho. Months later, a Fish and Game investigation led to the release of the young bull, which left the area during the winter. But it returned to Sweet this spring, and that’s when Fish and Game began receiving phone calls from area residents concerned for the safety of their children as the 400-pound ungulate roamed the town, unafraid of humans. With the fall rut approaching, things could only get worse.

Officers made several trips to Sweet in efforts to locate and capture the elk. On Aug. 19, the elk was finally caught and transported to Bear Valley, north of Lowman, Idaho. With plenty of elk in the Bear Valley area, it was hoped that the young bull would integrate into one of the local herds. But after two weeks in the wild, the young bull appears uninterested in its own kind, instead approaching curiosity seekers who have driven to Bear Valley in the hopes of spotting the animal.

It’s now obvious that the young bull is too habituated to humans to make the journey back to its wild roots. Instead it will live out its days in captivity.

Motorized electric bicycles may soon be humming along serene trails in national parks and other public lands nationwide. It’s part of a new Trump administration order — hotly opposed by many outdoors groups — that will allow e-bikes on every federal trail where a regular bike can go.

Sales of the bikes, powered by both pedals and battery-driven small motors, are booming, and some aging or less fit people have sought the rule change. It will allow them to whirr up and down biking trails in the country’s roughly 400 national parks and other federally managed backcountry areas.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed the order without fanfare last week, classifying e-bikes as non-motorized bikes.

The e-bikes “make bicycle travel easier and more efficient, and they provide an option for people who want to ride a bicycle but might not otherwise do so because of physical fitness, age, disability or convenience,” National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith said in a statement Friday.

Welcoming the change in Bar Harbor, Maine, on Friday, Gordon Goodwin, 69, said he and his wife look forward to riding the 57 miles of carriage paths that meander throughout Acadia National Park.

The paths, offering stunning views of lakes, mountains, forests and the ocean, are popular with bicyclists, but e-bikes have had to stay on the park’s roads instead.

“We’re stoked. We’re really stoked,” Goodwin said. “There’s just too much traffic on the main park roads that you can’t enjoy them. It’ll be great to get in the park and see nature and all that stuff.”

But more than 50 hiking, horse-riding and other outdoor and conservation associations, including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Pacific Crest Trail Association, objected in a July letter to the Interior Department. They say the administration is fundamentally changing the nature of national parks with little or no public notice or study.

“If you’re hiking on a trail in Utah and you’re rounding a bend and something’s coming at you at 20 mph, that really changes the experience,” said Kristen Brengel, a vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit that advocates for the national park system.

“It’s pretty jarring” to those who take to public lands to escape city noise and stress for nature, Brengel said. “You’re adding significant speed and a throttle to those trails.”

E-bikes are the fastest-growing segment of the bicycle industry, with U.S. sales jumping 72 percent to $144 million last year, according to the NPD Group, which tracks bike sales. The motorized bikes are popular with commuters and aging baby boomers who might not otherwise get out on a bicycle.

The bikes, which can cost $2,000 or more, combine the frame of a regular bike with lightweight batteries and electric motors.

In parks and other public lands as on city streets and sidewalks, people moving on vehicles powered by electric or gasoline engines frequently jostle for the right of way with people on foot or traditional bikes. In the National Park Service, officials over the decades have tried to carefully sort out rules and systems to minimize conflicts.

In their letter, the outdoor groups complained the decision to allow motorized bikes on bike trails breaks with policies dating back to the early 1970s confining cars, dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles and all other motorized vehicles to roads and designated areas or trails on public lands.

Interior’s order allows motorized bikes that can go up to 28 mph to be classified as regular bikes.

“Parks are already having a shortage of staffs and rangers,” said Randy Rasmussen, whose organization, Back Country Horsemen of America, opposes the rules. “And now what: they’re supposed to be out there with radar guns? It’s unenforceable.”

He suspects riders going faster than permitted will create dangerous encounters with spooked horses.

The Interior statement said riders must use the motor only to boost their pedaling on the trails, and not zip along on motor power alone.

Bernhardt’s order gave agency officials 30 days to come up with public guidance on how the new policy will be carried out by the National Park and National Wildlife Refuge systems, and on land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation.

The National Park Service said in a statement that public comment would be sought as it works to develop a revised rule on bicycle use.

Ashley Korenblat, an advocate for preserving public lands and CEO of Western Spirit Cycling in Moab, Utah, saw several upsides.

E-bikes could lead to fewer cars at congested national parks, she said. The bikes are quiet, not much faster than regular bikes and allow people who otherwise couldn’t physically ride to go cycling.

“You can bring grandma and a 7-year-old and the whole group will be able to stay together,” said Korenblat.

Adam Gariepy, manager of the Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop, said Friday he’s “tentatively happy” about the new rules. But he has reservations because some e-bikes like his can reach around 28 mph, he said. That speed could be dangerous on trails that have a mix of bicycle riders, horses and carriages, hikers, families and pets.

“It’s a two-edged sword. It’ll be great for older folks who are afraid of the hills and want to continue riding. But there should be some speed limit with them,” he said.

Park Service Deputy Director Smith said the parks “should be responsive to visitors’ interest in using this new technology wherever it is safe and appropriate to do.”

But Brengel, the parks conservation association official, noted the order comes in a season when thousands of volunteers with trail groups have been in the parks all summer improving trails.

“You put a policy out like this, and it’s a slap in the face,” she said.

Associated Press writer Brady McCombs contributed from Salt Lake City.

Challis native McKinsey Bruning, née Van Pelt, grew up with the Salmon River in her backyard, “born and raised doing all things outdoors.”

Despite that, she’d never climbed nearby 12,662-foot Mount Borah.

“I wanted to save it for something really special,” Bruning said. “I was actually going to climb it a couple years ago, but I just didn’t feel ready mentally, so I’ve been saving it.”

While McKinsey and her family love to hike, camp, hunt, fish, swim and boat, climbing was her mom Cindy’s passion. Cindy Van Pelt was an avid climber who traveled the world climbing mountains. Cindy died of breast cancer in 2000, “when I was a little girl,” McKinsey said.

But on Friday, McKinsey, 29, made her way to the summit of Idaho’s tallest peak for a very special occasion — her wedding.

McKinsey and her now-husband Jordan Bruning, 30, set out on the trail at 5:30 a.m. wearing headlamps in the darkness for the first hour. They were joined by Alex Amar, a childhood friend from Challis who’d become ordained and flown in from Alaska to officiate the wedding, and McKinsey’s brother, Matt Van Pelt, who’d come in from Arizona to witness the ceremony.

After several hours of hiking, and a brief respite about three-fourths of the way up to help Amar fend off altitude sickness, McKinsey and Jordan were married at the summit in a simple ceremony.

“It was my idea,” McKinsey said of the mountaintop nuptials. “We’ve been together 11 years. We didn’t want something fancy and big. We wanted something intimate and something that had a lot of meaning behind it — something that just kind of portrayed what we love to do.”

McKinsey’s something borrowed was an orange and magenta Patagonia anorak that her mother had worn while summiting the mountain with Matt two decades ago.

While at the summit McKinsey and Matt recreated the triumphant pose a photo Matt had taken with their mom from their Mount Borah hike.

Once the ceremony was over, and with thunderclouds closing in, the wedding/climbing party hurried down the mountain to avoid the rain. And while they did get rained on a little bit, it did nothing to dampen their day.

McKinsey and Jordan, who live in Pocatello, met through a mutual friend from Challis while in college at Idaho State University. McKinsey, who graduated from ISU in 2013, is a stay-at-home mom for the couple’s two children, daughter Hartley, 8, and son Cache, 7. Jordan, a Twin Falls native, is a welder who commutes to work at Bayer in Soda Springs.

Hartley and Cache didn’t accompany their parents on the hike but got to participate in the weekend festivities when their uncle Matt, a pilot, flew them over Mount Borah on Saturday morning.

“They were super-excited,” McKinsey said.

POCATELLO — For the fifth consecutive year, the Idaho State University Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group (CW HOG) offered a free trip to veterans for a five-day rafting adventure down the Green River through the “Gates of Lodore” in Dinosaur National Monument.

Ten veterans from throughout Idaho — from Pocatello, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls and Boise — joined the group of 23 that included staff, ISU students and community members on the early-August float trip. They floated 50 miles through stunning canyon country in Colorado and Utah.

“The veteran population is one that deserves to be served and have these experiences,” said Bob Ellis, CW HOG instructor/outdoor recreation coordinator. “The trip was great. We had great weather, and a little low water because it was later in the season, which makes for some challenges. But we love traveling with the vets because they love to help out, that is their nature.”

CW HOG receives grant funding from the Veterans Administration to essentially offer this annual trip for free to veterans. The veterans have to provide a $100 deposit, but it is refundable upon completion of the trip.

“We want everyone to know we are doing this for the veterans because they are an important population for us,” Ellis said.

The veterans on the trip included some ISU students, but it is open for veterans statewide. For some, the trip can be life changing. Chad Elliott, a veteran and ISU alumnus from Ammon, said the trip was exceptional.

“Because of Justin, Bob, and Kerry (CW HOG staff) I have a renewed strength to live life to the fullest,” Elliott said. “The rafting trip opened my eyes to greater possibilities and I am honored and blessed to know there are still people out there who want to unselfishly support our country’s veterans. I look forward to going on the rafting trip next year.”

CW HOG is pursuing funding to potentially expand free or low-cost offerings to veterans for winter activities such as skiing or yurt trip.

As noted above, veterans weren’t the only members of the group of adventurers. The trip included current ISU students, including Sierra Anderson, from Twin Falls, who is a senior in ISU’s nursing program.

“The trip was a blast and I have been on many rafting trips and this was one of my favorites,” Anderson said. “I totally recommend anyone to take on this adventure and try something new with the Outdoor Adventure Center. It was very well planned and I felt like I was with experts and was safe at all times.”

“Rafting on the river,” she continued, “is an experience that you cannot describe and it is never too late to have an adventure of a life time in the rivers of unknown.”

ISU students can sign up for one free outing this summer. A deposit is required, but will be refunded after participating. Space is limited, so students should sign up early for the first-come, first-served trips. Restrictions and limitations may apply. Participants may be required to provide their own equipment, but equipment rentals are available at a student rate. Trips planned this fall include stand up paddle boarding, Hagerman whitewater rafting, rock climbing at Massacre Rocks, caving, kayak touring, a Yellowstone tour, rock climbing at Castle Rocks, Lava Hot Springs trip, overnight yurt trip and West Yellowstone cross-country ski trip.

The Outdoor Adventure Center rents outdoor equipment ranging from rafts and kayaks to backpacks and mountain bikes.

For more information, visit isu.edu/outdoor or call 208-282-3912.

POCATELLO — For the fifth consecutive year, the Idaho State University Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group (CW HOG) offered a free trip to veterans for a five-day rafting adventure down the Green River through the “Gates of Lodore” in Dinosaur National Monument.

Ten veterans from throughout Idaho — from Pocatello, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls and Boise — joined the group of 23 that included staff, ISU students and community members on the early-August float trip. They floated 50 miles through stunning canyon country in Colorado and Utah.

“The veteran population is one that deserves to be served and have these experiences,” said Bob Ellis, CW HOG instructor/outdoor recreation coordinator. “The trip was great. We had great weather, and a little low water because it was later in the season, which makes for some challenges. But we love traveling with the vets because they love to help out, that is their nature.”

CW HOG receives grant funding from the Veterans Administration to essentially offer this annual trip for free to veterans. The veterans have to provide a $100 deposit, but it is refundable upon completion of the trip.

“We want everyone to know we are doing this for the veterans because they are an important population for us,” Ellis said.

The veterans on the trip included some ISU students, but it is open for veterans statewide. For some, the trip can be life changing. Chad Elliott, a veteran and ISU alumnus from Ammon, said the trip was exceptional.

“Because of Justin, Bob, and Kerry (CW HOG staff) I have a renewed strength to live life to the fullest,” Elliott said. “The rafting trip opened my eyes to greater possibilities and I am honored and blessed to know there are still people out there who want to unselfishly support our country’s veterans. I look forward to going on the rafting trip next year.”

CW HOG is pursuing funding to potentially expand free or low-cost offerings to veterans for winter activities such as skiing or yurt trip.

As noted above, veterans weren’t the only members of the group of adventurers. The trip included current ISU students, including Sierra Anderson, from Twin Falls, who is a senior in ISU’s nursing program.

“The trip was a blast and I have been on many rafting trips and this was one of my favorites,” Anderson said. “I totally recommend anyone to take on this adventure and try something new with the Outdoor Adventure Center. It was very well planned and I felt like I was with experts and was safe at all times.”

“Rafting on the river,” she continued, “is an experience that you cannot describe and it is never too late to have an adventure of a life time in the rivers of unknown.”

ISU students can sign up for one free outing this summer. A deposit is required, but will be refunded after participating. Space is limited, so students should sign up early for the first-come, first-served trips. Restrictions and limitations may apply. Participants may be required to provide their own equipment, but equipment rentals are available at a student rate. Trips planned this fall include stand up paddle boarding, Hagerman whitewater rafting, rock climbing at Massacre Rocks, caving, kayak touring, a Yellowstone tour, rock climbing at Castle Rocks, Lava Hot Springs trip, overnight yurt trip and West Yellowstone cross-country ski trip.

The Outdoor Adventure Center rents outdoor equipment ranging from rafts and kayaks to backpacks and mountain bikes.

For more information, visit isu.edu/outdoor or call 208-282-3912.